17 killed in Kabul suicide blast

Blast site near Sidarat Square in Kabul, Afghanistan

Kabul, Jan 27 (UITV/IANS) - At least 17 people were killed and 110 others injured on Saturday in a suicide car bomb attack near Sidarat Square in central Kabul where several government offices are located.

The blast occurred roughly at 12.50 p.m. near the Jamhoriat Hospital.

The spokesman for the Health ministry Ismail Kawosi told Efe that "up to seventeen persons had died and one hundred wounded", and had been taken to Kabul's nearby hospitals.

Among those affected by the blast were women and children, the source added.

The old building of the Afghan Interior Ministry is located at the area.

Security forces have cordoned off the area for precautionary measures. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.